Is a PAL of 0.5 mg protein per 100 g of food considered safe?
According to a panel of specialists from the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network, unintentional presence of the 14 main food allergens below 0.5 mg per 100 g is unlikely to jeopardize most food allergy patients.
Allergen warning labels like “may contain traces of” are common. However, customers are left in the dark if the contamination is below their own threshold. It was recommended in negotiations with the food industry and technologists to utilize a voluntary statement stating that all reported pollutants are less than 0.5 mg protein per 100 g of food. This concentration is known to be below most patients' thresholds, and it is assured in most food manufacturing. Nevertheless, a deadly anaphylactic response may occur if extremely allergic individuals accidentally ingested pollutants below this threshold.
The expert panel conducted a systematic study to see whether a fatal response to 5 mg or less of protein had been documented, assuming that a maximum portion size of 1 kilogram of processed food surpasses any meal and so provides an adequate safety margin. One of the 14 top food allergens was documented to have caused a deadly or life-threatening anaphylactic response in 210 trials, according to the research. Ingestion of less than 5 mg protein caused no deadly effects in any of the experiments. However, severe responses to less than 5 mg have been documented in provocation studies and case reports for eggs, fish, lupin, milk, nuts, peanuts, soy, and sesame seeds.
For an optional disclosure on processed food packaging, the expert groups propose using the phrase ““this product contains the named allergens in the list of ingredients, it may contain traces of other contaminations (to be named, e.g. nut) at concentrations less than 0.5 mg per 100 g of this product”. This degree of cross-contamination prevention is theoretically achievable for most processed goods, and the message to customers is obvious and beneficial.
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